Stem

Life settled lightly
on the stem of spirit,
and let soul rise
to blossom as it will,
that fate might draw
like sap through time;
hold back what death's
dark stamens would reveal.

http://margoroby.com/2014/01/21/poem-tryouts-stem-those-protests/#respond

Quaint

We seek for the familiar,
demand what we have known,
consider quaint, alternatives;
reject what we are shown.

In holding to familiar,
we keep illusion near,
in comforting security
so certainty does breathe.

 http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/2014/01/trifecta-week-110.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+trifectawritingchallenge%2FIazs+%28Trifecta%29

Bell of midnight

Bell of midnight sounded deep,
the fears fled underground,
a coin was placed upon the eye;
the moment fractured now.

Illusory became this world,
yet stars like topaz shone,
angel voice in lilting tones;
feathered like a swan.

Dreams did ebb in misty throng,
the moon birthed inner force,
electricity in nightmares;
to give the soul it's course.

Scales of doubt were lifting,
fluttering through pain,
kindling fires to burn within;
signals of hope's gain.

Goddesses in lapiz robes,
trod lithe and light beside,
to lift the haze eternal;
let Spirit fame deride.

Thoughts baroque did linger,
mishapen and profound,
the lyricism of the mind;
time spread on fallow ground.

The fire in roaring leaping,
did burn in closet heart,
alchemical the breath of words;
the joke of life made art.

As soul held steady brush,
with water to dilute,
the demons drew pedantic;
so death was resolute.

Upon the shelf Akashic,
stood memories in rows,
the boatman ever waiting;
eternal path full known.

http://wewritepoems.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/we-wordle-03/#respond


midnight, underground, coin (Annell)
fractured, illusory, topaz (Jules Paige)
electricity, tones, swan (Robyn Greenhouse)
moon, ebb, throng (Debi Swim)
scales, burn, give (Barbara)
fluttering, kindling, signals (Elizabeth)
lithe, lapis, haze (Nicole)
baroque, lyricism, goddesses (Irene)
roaring, fame, closet (Marian Veverka)
joke, fire, leaping (Sara, Purple in Portland)
breath, words, water (Ms. Pie)
brush, shelf, pedantic (Misky)

My verse

My verse reveals inexorably,
the landscape of my mind,
words like blossoms scattered;
collect what you can find.

Remember

I remember the boy with laughing eyes,
and a smile as wide as the sea;
sun-born hair of bleached delight,
heart and mind at peace.

Time has taken hold of him,
drawn to other paths,
calling forth the man within;
hid in forests dark.

Call the boy beyond the veil,
wait for distant steps,
know that he is laughing still;
but can't remember yet. 

Love and pain

I never knew that love would bring
such pain and tearing hurt,
that holding others in my heart
would lay me waste and burned.

I never knew that caring deep
for those I brought to birth,
would mean a life surrendered
to all that they brought forth.

There is no other bond so great,
which holds both mind and soul,
in chains of constant caring;
as endless years unfold.

It is as if their DNA is written
in my blood, and swirls in pure
remembering, no matter
where they are.

There is no place beyond the truth,
and we remain entwined,
in complex, cast of being;
a mother's life defined.

The wood within

The wood within
is dark and deep,
close-set with many trees-
the leaves stand stiff
like armour strapped,
untouched by any breeze.

A woman bent
and old as time
came out and turned to greet-
her face in shadow,
eyes black, sharp,
a chance, myself to meet.

And when I asked
her what it was
that she did darkly seek,
she cried: 'Your soul,
is what I want, for
it is mine to keep.'

The groan within
was dark and deep,
fear filled, took hold
and locked. I stood
stone-still,
I could not move,
as on my tomb
she knocked.

I turned and fled,
the forest deep,
and prayed once more
for light. I knew
I left not far behind
my own eternal night.

And when I sat
in safe, bright day
and turned my eyes
to see, I knew the woman
was my guide,
and she could set me free.

The wood within,
it is my own -
I planted every tree.
The woman old,
and bent by time,
can lead myself to me.